The Borderland Thunder showed the fight of a team desperate to prolong its season but in the end, the bounces—and the championship—went the Dryden Ice Dogs’ way.
Ice Dogs forward Konrad Bruetsch’s shin pad played hero to snap a 4-4 tie at the 17:40 mark of the third period Thursday night, helping host Dryden to a 6-4 victory and a sweep of the inaugural best-of-seven SIJHL final.
After a furious series of scoring chances at both ends of the rink, Mike Kavanaugh fired a point shot which deflected off a Thunder player’s skate and Bruetsch to beat Rob Hrabec.
“Coach [Larry Wintoneak] tells us to drive the net and it just hit my leg. I didn’t expect it, but it’s still a great feeling,” said Bruetsch, whose team sliced through the SIJHL playoffs with a perfect 8-0 record.
The 1,100-plus fans at the Dryden Recreation Centre were at full volume as Jordan Sitar hit the empty net one minute later to seal the victory and see the Ice Dogs advance to the Dudley Hewitt Cup final against the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association champion.
But the Thunder took solace in the fact they were able to control the play last night against the Ice Dogs—a sharp contrast from Games 2 and 3 where Dryden shut down their offence after grabbing the lead.
“We played well tonight. We took it to them five-on-five,” said Thunder captain Josh Baxter. “A couple of tough breaks went their way and that’s how it goes sometimes.”
For the second-straight night, the Thunder opened the scoring at the 17:10 mark of the first period after Troy Arnold found the open net off a point drive.
But also similar to Game 3 on Wednesday night, Dryden promptly answered with goals by Mike English, Merlyn Smith, and Bruetsch to take a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes.
Kevin Webb shot a rolling puck which fooled Ice Dogs goalie Ryan McGillis four minutes into the second to cut the gap to 3-2. Then Shawn Bishop restored Dryden’s two-goal advantage with a wraparound to the left of Hrabec.
But the Thunder stormed back. Webb scored on the power play late in the second before Ian Lockman tied the game at the 15:44 mark of the third.
McGillis stopped 28 of 32 shots while Hrabec—playing in his last game as a junior—faced 31.
“We never quit. We kept fighting and played our game,” Thunder head coach Wayne Strachan said outside a quiet visitors’ locker room afterwards.
“But you can’t take anything away from Dryden. They played hard, did what they had to do, and got a lot of breaks and bounces,” he added.
Wintoneak said finishing off the Thunder was no easy task.
“It was a war out there. That last game is always the hardest to win,” he remarked. “I have to give credit to Wayne and his team. It’s easy to fold the tent when you’re down 0-3 but they battled back.
“It was an exciting game and a great way to win a championship,” he added.
Ailing forward Chad Baldwin saw limited action for the Thunder last night, but Matt Johnson—the SIJHL’s leading playoff scorer—ended his season on the sidelines with a separated shoulder that he suffered prior to Game 3.
About 90 Thunder fans made the trip to Dryden on Thursday night—complete with signs, jerseys, and flags.
Before Dryden was awarded the Bill Salonen Trophy, the Thunder were presented with a trophy for having the best regular-season record.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
